The resource base of a country consists of (a) human resources, (b) non-renewable resources which are an endowment of nature and whose total size gets depleted with time and (c) renewable resources which can be continuously created and whose base can be expanded through human efforts.
Economic planning is concerned with the effective and optimal utilization of the potential resources of an economy. This is particularly so in the context of underdeveloped countries which are striving to raise the standard of living of the masses. In fact, planning is a process aiming not merely at the best utilization of material resources but also at the development of human faculties and institutional framework suitable to the needs and aspirations of the people.
The establishment of Planning Commission in 1950 heralded a new era in the economic history of India. It makes an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel, and investigates the possibilities of augmenting such of these resources as are found to be deficient in relation to the nation’s requirements. It, then, formulates a Plan for the most effective and balanced utilization of the country’s resources. India’s First Five Year Plan was launched on April 1, 1951. Since then, ten Five year Plans have been completed and the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) is underway.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR M.M. Sury
M.M. Sury received his B.A. (Hons.), M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Delhi. Specialising in fiscal economics, he has published widely on the Indian fiscal system in national and international journals. He was a Visiting Fellow at the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, Amsterdam (May 1989), a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla (1991-92) and a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Law and Management, University of Mauritius, Mauritius (September-October, 2000). He has Economic Adviser, Delhi State Finance Commission (1996-97). Presently, he is a Reader in the Department of Economics, A.R.S.D. College, University of Delhi. He is also the President of the Indian Tax Foundation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vibha Mathur
Vibha Mathur received her M. Phil. And Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. She has written extensively on India’s foreign trade and related areas. Dr. Mathur has already authored three books, namely India-European Union Trade Prospects and Impact of Euro; Foreign Trade of India: Policy and Developments, 1950-2000 and Trade Liberalisation and Foreign Investment in India: 1991-2001. Dr. Mathur was a visiting fellow at the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels, Belgium in May 2001. Presently, she is a Reader in the Department of Commerce, Jesus & Mary College, University of Delhi.
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